The
Insurance Association of The Gambia, IAG, has said it will lobby for the
establishment of a National Insurance Commission that would serve as a “driving
force for the growth” of the industry.
At
its 26th General Assembly held in a local hotel at Kololi on
February 8, 2014, the IAG said the proposed Commission would allow it tap into
unexploited areas in the insurance market.
“My
ambition is to see the gradual growth of the [insurance] industry to enable us
tap the unexploited fertile areas in the market,” IAG President Almamy B.
Jobarteh said on Saturday.
He
said the IAG executive committee is convinced that one robust way of achieving
this goal “is to lobby for the establishment of a National Insurance Commission
which would be the driving force for the growth of our industry.”
Self-regulation
Mr
Jobarteh also said the issue of self-regulation and collaboration especially in
the area of “underwriting and claims management” is another important area that
the IAG need to look into.
“A
code of conduct has been drafted and reviewed by the executive committee to
address these concerns,” he said.
The
IAG general assembly also discussed building public trust, and one way to do
this according to them, is the publication of statistics on claims paid to
their clients.
Henry
Jawo, Secretary General of IAG, said the 8th Edition of the
Insurance Forum magazine seeks to address the lack of public data on payment of
claims by insurance companies.
Almamy B. Jobarteh-IAG President (Photo Credit: Lamin Jahateh) |
“This
information will in no small measure help in improving public confidence in our
industry,” added Mr Jawo who is retiring from the IAG secretariat after 13
years.
Building public
trust
Since
2013, the IAG has set in motion a number of reform plans that would address
professionalism and ethical practices needed to build public trust and to spur
growth and development of the industry.
On
insurance awareness week 2013, the IAG said a February 11-16 campaign was meant
to eradicate the poor public image of the insurance industry in The Gambia, and
seeks to further increase the general public’s understanding of insurance and
insurance policies.
“The poor
public image of the insurance industry is due to the fact that people do not
have much knowledge about insurance,” says Muhammed Jagana, President of Gambia
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
“Even
some of the people who are purportedly knowledgeable on the subject, by being
insured, do not read to know the terms and conditions of their policy hence do
not know what is covered and what is not,” he added.
Mr
Jagana encouraged the IAG to tackle the poor image of the industry by ensuring
policyholders become more aware of their rights under the insurance
policy.
Written by Modou S. Joof
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